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Politics, Law and Psychology are fields that come together in the symbolic. This text takes evidence from those three areas to develop an analysis of political symbols and political transitions. The development of the analysis goes through three stages. The first succinctly describes the concept of transition and its meaning. The second closely examines the notion of the symbol, in terms of its definition, to explain aspects that allow us to understand it, characterise it and make its functions clear. Finally, from the author's experience as a witness and as an actor, I suggest three ways of understanding symbols in the processes of political transition: as symbols of change, as symbols of acknowledgment, and as symbols of support.

Political change in Africa has not met the ex pectations of pre-independence analysts. Civil wars, military coups, and the demise of multi-party states weigh heavily on the performance of public authorities and the smooth functioning of the body politic. At the local level, political and demographic changes also exceed expectations. Ad ministrators are unprepared to deal with the vast numbers of migrants who are attracted to the burgeoning cities. At the same time, agencies are constantly reorganized and bureau cratic continuity is minimal. The result is that residents are forced to meet political needs through their own efforts. To these ends there has been an increasing Africanization of the polity, as seen in the proliferation of traditional authority figures who adapt their roles as chiefs or patrons to the modem urban marketplace, and a proliferation of organizations and networks that serve as interest groups or dispute-settlement mechanisms in place of formal govern mental institutions. Although unanticipated, these features can no longer be considered deviations from a prescribed norm. They are an organic part of the political process. Today they account for much of the stability and con tinuity that are to be found in Africa's urban political systems.

The debate on political transitions as applied to the Arab world (see volumes one and two of this series) is ongoing, and the applicability of one or the other of the extant models to this region is a lively one, as the present set of studies demonstrates. Most of the arguments advanced below are based on historical and descriptive data, but theoretical considerations are not absent, in particular those that tend to call into question the universality of democratic transitions while stressing their importance as guides to analysis and even to behavior. It is in this spirit that the authors, in addition to the first chapter dealing with the key political transition in the Arab Mashreq during the late Ottoman period, examine the cases of Egypt, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority

In the twentieth century, many countries around the globe experienced rapid and often traumatic political transformations. From East Germany and Northern Ireland to Argentina, Chile and Zimbabwe, political transition has been momentous and has had a deep impact on the individual culture of each society. This collection explores these periods of political transition and the impact that they have had through an analysis of memory, identity, space/place and voice. Concentrating in particular on post-colonial and post-oppressive regimes in Europe, Southern Africa and Latin America, the contributors assess how individuals come to terms with rapid political change, and the enduring legacies of the past in the present. They examine how political transformations affect people's memories and identities, reworking spaces/places and voices, and how both offical and unofficial mechanisms set up to cope with these changes impact on these issues. Juxtaposing different country and regional experiences and different historical eras, this is a comprehensive guide to the vast range of issues involved in political transition that will appeal to a multidisciplinary audience

I address the role of social mobility in political transitions. I develop a political economy model of regime transitions that incorporates social mobility as a key feature of the economy capturing the political attitudes toward redistribution. I show that social mobility facilitates democratization by reducing the conflict over redistribution between the rich and the poor. Furthermore, it facilitates democratic consolidation by reducing the likelihood of a coup under democracy. On the other hand, social mobility helps to keep an authoritarian regime stable by reducing the likelihood of mass movements against political elites. 3 Figures, 1 Appendix, 43 References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright 2005.]

This book explores how states in political transition use stamps to promote a new visual nationalism. Stamps as products of the state and provide small pieces of information about a state's heritage, culture, economies and place in the world. These depictions change over time, reflecting political and cultural changes and developments. The volume explores the transition times in more than a dozen countries from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. Specifically addressed are the stamp topics, issues and themes in the years before and after such major changes occurred, for example, from a European colony to political independence or from a dictatorship to democracy. The authors compare the personalities, histories, and cultural representations "before" the transition period and how the state used the "after" event to define or redefine its place on the world political map. The final three chapters consider international themes on many stamp issues, one being stamps with Disney cartoon characters, another on "themeless" Forever stamps, and the third on states celebrating women and their accomplishments. This volume has wide interdisciplinary relevance and should prove of particular interest to those studying geopolitics, political transition, visual nationalism, soft power and visual representations of decolonializing.

This book explores how states in political transition use stamps to promote a new visual nationalism. Stamps as products of the state and provide small pieces of information about a state's heritage, culture, economies and place in the world. These depictions change over time, reflecting political and cultural changes and developments. The volume explores the transition times in more than a dozen countries from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. Specifically addressed are the stamp topics, issues and themes in the years before and after such major changes occurred, for example, from a European colony to political independence or from a dictatorship to democracy. The authors compare the personalities, histories, and cultural representations "before" the transition period and how the state used the "after" event to define or redefine its place on the world political map. The final three chapters consider international themes on many stamp issues, one being stamps with Disney cartoon characters, another on "themeless" Forever stamps, and the third on states celebrating women and their accomplishments. This volume has wide interdisciplinary relevance and should prove of particular interest to those studying geopolitics, political transition, visual nationalism, soft power and visual representations of decolonializing.